Chile's LAN gets OK to enter Colombia cargo market

SANTIAGO, July 7 (Reuters) - Chile's dominant airline, LAN LAN.SN (LFL.N), said on Monday Colombia had given it the go-ahead to set up a cargo affiliate airline, which could start operating there in early 2009.

Colombia is the largest air cargo market in Latin America in terms of exports to the United States, with estimated volume of 200,000 tons annually, LAN said in a statement.

The airline now must begin an operational and technical certification process in Colombia that will likely take up to six months.

"Once launched, the affiliate company in Colombia will significantly contribute to the development of this important market, providing connectivity to the United States and Latin America with a modern fleet of Boeing 767-300F freighter aircraft," the company said.

LAN's cargo network covers about 75 destinations worldwide. LAN CARGO already has operations in Brazil and Mexico.

Parent LAN has affiliates in Ecuador, Peru and Argentina. It accounts for more than half of Chile's international passenger traffic and nearly three-quarters of its domestic traffic. (Reporting by Pav Jordan; editing by John Wallace)